Brethren

Jerry Bossert hinted on Monday that early Derby fave Uncle Mo might start at Gulfstream on March 12, instead of at Tampa in its eponymous Derby on the same day, if a suitable race were written. Such has happened:

Gulfstream Park racing secretary Dan Bork has written a one-mile overnight handicap for 3-year-olds to be run here March 12. The race, called the Timely Writer, will offer a $100,000 purse and will carry no conditions, which makes it open to all 3-year-olds, including reigning division leader and Eclipse Award champion Uncle Mo.

Trainer Todd Pletcher and owner Mike Repole are very interested; the camp will commit to a race next week. “We’ll talk it over after he works and we’ll let people know on Monday or Tuesday,” Repole told the Blood-Horse.

As prepping goes, if Uncle Mo were to start in the Gulfstream special, then the Wood Memorial (which has been mentioned as a target), his schedule would look much like Big Brown’s in 2008. Before winning the Kentucky Derby, he started in a one-mile allowance on March 5 and then the Florida Derby on March 29. The sequence worked for Big Brown, the first horse in more than 30 years to win off one two-turn start as a 3-year-old, but he was exceptional in a weak crop — Uncle Mo’s contemporaries seem like a more promising bunch.

A couple of years ago, I was listening to one of the Road to the Roses teleconferences hosted by the NTRA each spring. Trainer Todd Pletcher was taking questions. In February, a well-bred 3-year-old from his barn had won a grass race impressively at Gulfstream, briefly sparking Kentucky Derby talk. A reporter asked about the colt. Pletcher replied, “Who?”

It was funny, but as I listened to the trainer smoothly make up for his startled first response, I realized he had said everything about how he perceived the colt’s potential, and it wasn’t anything to look forward to on the Derby Trail.

I was reminded of that call yesterday after Brethren won the Sam F. Davis at Tampa Bay Downs by four lengths as the 4-5 favorite. The final time was 1:45.07, for which Brethren was given a Beyer speed figure of 83. DRF Formulator gives his fractions as a steady :24+ per split. His final sixteenth was :6.87, and the way he drew off in the stretch was visually impressive.

A great effort isn’t Who?, and the trainer may not have been at Tampa for several reasons. Yet I’m getting a sense that, as a Kentucky Derby prospect, Brethren isn’t one to get too excited* about this season.

What’s more, he did it without Tom Queally going to the whip. “I didn’t have to resort to the stick,” said the jockey, “and if you don’t punish young horses like this at this stage of their career then it is a bonus.”

1452: More from Cecil — and this is the headline-stuff. He says: “It’s lovely to have a horse like this. At home he works unbelievably well, I’ve never had a horse work like him as a two-year-old. He’s in second gear and doesn’t run away with you but goes into a sixth gear. If he was a formula one car he’d win everything, as long as I didn’t drive him” …

1448: As Frankel returned, Cecil lent over to Lord Grimthorpe and said: “We need to find him a pacemaker” …

William Hill responded to the win by making the 2-year-old Galileo colt, now 4-for-4, the 4-5 favorite for the 2000 Guineas, “although whether he will remain odds-on through the winter is open to some doubt as other firms were not quite so impressed.” Bookmakers also cut their prices on runner-up Roderic O’Connor, while raising odds on the previously undefeated Dream Ahead and Saamidd, who finished fifth and sixth. Of the two, Saamidd’s effort was considerably more disappointing. The colt balked at entering the starting gate (ultimately requiring a blindfold), and never looked comfortable racing. Dream Ahead, at least, briefly gave chase to Frankel before fading.

You know who else is fabulous? Zenyatta. The big mare graces a full page in the November issue of W magazine, flattering text by Steve Haskin (“She … transcends the Thoroughbred as we know it”) accompanying a stylish head shot (love the forelock tousled just so — she’s a fashion magazine natural). A W photo shoot, a billboard, a country song — I can’t think of any living racehorse in recent years who has crossed over into mainstream culture as much as she has (except, perhaps, for poor Barbaro). Trainer John Shirreffs, talking to media at Keeneland on Friday, was absolutely right about one thing — Zenyatta has done a lot for the game, generating good will and positive coverage with her accomplishments.